Midsummer seems a good time to poll my readers on how they deal with the temptation to devote most of their energy to making money.

Beyond a certain modicum necessary for survival and security, money becomes an abstraction. In the words of Samuel Butler, "enough is always a little more than one has."

The material world literally is organized to steal our souls from God. Like spiders, the central bankers, who serve Lucifer, spin this money out of nothing in order to ensnare us in a web of debt. And like spiders, the ultimate plan seems to be to devour us, body and soul.

How much of your thought and energy is devoted to money?

Stock market trading on the Internet literally has placed a slot machine in every home or hand. Millions of people trade during their workday. As a result, millions obsess constantly about money.

There is a tendency to think stock trading is cool if you're making money but morally corrupt if you're losing it. It can't be both. Is "good" defined by success?

The trader is ensnared as long as he is successful, and can only find peace when he is bankrupted. Eventually there will be a crash and we all will be liberated.

Making money by stock trading is very enticing. It's often easy. Latch on to an Apple, for example. Money is very empowering. It lets you do things. It gives you freedom. It's a rush.

Of course, losing money is very debilitating. It's a bummer. It's easy to get hooked on the highs and lows. But some experienced traders manage to take them in stride.

I made a lot of money from "Scruples" and lost much of it gambling on options. I really didn't know what I was doing and was arrogant and slow to learn. People who are successful in one realm mistakenly think they can do anything.

When I came into money, I lost my identity. My money owned me. I became a money manager. Instead of using it to advance personal goals, my sense of self waxed and waned with my balance. When my broker asked, "How are you?" I'd say to myself, "You tell me."

I didn't have clear goals, so it was easy to be sidetracked. I was a product of the male arrested development endemic in this culture.

In retrospect, I'd be laughing if I had just bought blue chips and forgot about them. I wish I could say I had that wisdom and character.

The stock market is the only real democracy left. By cutting the vast middle class in on their wealth, the bankers ensure their loyalty. People don't care about truth and freedom, war and peace, as long as they have comfortable houses, BMW's and jacuzzis.

Many people put their faith in Gold. They say money is paper but isn't gold just a stone after all? The market is manipulated. The bankers could demolish the price of gold simply by raising interest rates. Friday July 13, gold hovered around $666 all day. Coincidence?

We will do anything to avoid serving God, anything to avoid taking the ego out of gold (symbolized by the l.) God really means serving "ourselves" since I believe obeying God is the principle of our personal development. Worship is serving our ideal selves, the person God created us to be.

IT'S NOT WHAT YOU HAVE

When I was rich I found I didn't appreciate having things as much as I did as a grad student. I used to live on about $10K and wanted for nothing. I actually saved. It's not what you have; it's how much you appreciate what you have. And if it comes too easily, you tend to appreciate it less.

My first car, a nearly new Mazda GLC, took all my savings ($7K.) It meant the world to me. I became nauseous when some kids sat on the hood and made a dent. My last car, purchased when I was rich, was an Infiniti J30. I wrote a cheque for $37K and thought, "what the hell, it's OK."

Money is an abstraction that ensnares. Beyond our necessities, it just steals our lives. How did Ted Turner manage when his $10 billion fortune was reduced to $3 billion (after AOL bought Time Warner?) Did it sting to go from the 12th richest man to the 48th? I bet it did. Did it affect his lifestyle? I doubt it!

We can't buy happiness but we keep on trying. Money makes us feel good and feeling good is what motivates us. Only, the feeling doesn't last. I have a hunch that Love (God) is what provides the permanent feel-good experience. We have substituted money for love. As a result, we can't love.

Henry David Thoreau said, "A man is rich in proportion to the time he can devote to other things than money." In those terms, many people–especially the rich-- are poor. Those "other things" are what make us human.

I'd like to hear your concise comments on how much thought and energy you devote to money, and how you feel about it..

"TerrorStorm is something that should be seen by everyone, no matter what their stance/affiliation/political bent. " - Rich Rosell, Digitally Obsessed UK Get TerrorStorm on DVD today